As I think back to the first outing, I seem to recall not having a lot of love for that film. For some reason I walked away from that with a bad taste in my mouth. Now, I have not seen it since that theatrical viewing, three years ago, but thinking back I don't know why. It certainly wasn't a bad movie, and while it has faults (some of which carry over to Book of Secrets) it has certain charms. This is not about that first film, let's move along, shall we?
National Treasure: Book of Secrets opens with Ben and his father, Patrick (Jon Voight), giving a lecture regarding Ben's Great Grandfather Thomas Gates' involvement with the assassination of President Lincoln following the Civil War, and how his actions helped to preserve the young nation. Problems arise when a fellow named Mitch Wilkinson (Ed Harris) shows up with one of the long thought lost pages from John Wilkes Booth's diary which seems to implicate Thomas as one of the, if not the mastermind, conspirators of the assassination. Obviously, Ben and Patrick are devastated by the defamation of their family name. Ben then sets out to prove that Thomas is innocent, that he was just attempting to hide the treasure that could have tipped the balance of power during the Civil War.
More and more often we see films targeted towards the PG-13 rating, which is believed to be the holy grail of box office success. We will often hear of films that are cut to avoid an R and sometimes have footage added to get to the PG-13. Then, when films are rated PG, they tend to be targeted at younger children or at tween girls. Noticing those trends makes films like the two National Treasures all the more rare, and in a way welcome, at the cineplex. This movie offers up high action and adventure that is exciting, yet does not resort to language or any truly extreme violence. Yes, you see fights and guns, but you will not see anyone killed (not that I recall anyway). It is true that National Treasure is good for the whole family and does not feel that it has been sanitized to get the rating.
The cast is strong, and while the movie tends towards the weak it is pretty obvious that they all had fun. Helen Mirren, as Ben's mother, clearly had a good time cutting loose after playing the title character in The Queen. Cage, Bhartha, Kruger, Voight, Harris, and Harvey Keitel all rumble through this film as if its an amusement park. It is their enthusiasm that translates to positive energy in the audience, effectively winning them over as the wildly implausible plot plays out.
Bottomline. Yes, I had fun. It is worth seeing on the big screen if you thirst for some big goofy action, and especially if you want to take the family. Just brush off the wackiness and enjoy it for what it is. I just wonder how many people are going to head out and try to find these places for real?
Mildly Recommended.
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